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Texas Kitchen with Rustic Glamour

He wanted rugged and outdoorsy. She preferred elegant California chic. Houston interior designer Julie Dodson made each of them happy, designing a high-functioning kitchen that blends both aesthetics.

The couple’s new Texas home was under construction when Dodson stepped in. What everyone agreed on was the need for a kitchen where the family (including daughters ages 9, 16, and 19) could gather daily and entertain family and friends. Dodson planted a super-size island topped with a thick slab of Calacatta marble in the center of the room. Ends of the island are also clad in the heavily veined marble, giving it the heft to balance the spacious room.

The island is centered on a nearly ceiling-high custom window with painted black steel mullions. Casement windows set into the large window behind the main sink swing inward for ventilation.

To add a rustic vintage feel, the window wall is clad with bricks in muted shades of red, a contrast to the smooth white marble. “I wanted a soft look,” explains Dodson. “The brick warms the room so much.”

While rustic hand-hewn ceiling beams speak to a casual Texas country style, the custom white cabinets with polished-nickel hardware are clean and contemporary. Acrylic-base bar stools keep the space feeling open and modern.

Bubble-like crystal light fixtures that contrast with the rough-hewn ceiling beams fill the space over the island without obstructing views outdoors. “The lights are so perfect,” says designer Julie Dodson. “They’re like this glamorous take on midcentury modern style.”

An antique wood door surround that Dodson scored at an antiques shop was fabricated to frame the range and hood. The rustic element contrasts with the white polished surfaces and make the room feel casual and inviting.

A Wolf 48-inch, six-burner range tucks into a niche lined with heavily veined Calacatta marble. The sleek custom-made hood is from the Lonestar Range Hood

Salvaged barn siding covers the wall above the molding and blends with an adjacent brick niche for the pizza oven. “There are so many different textures,” the designer says. “Mixing old with modern makes for an incredibly harmonious, beautiful space.”

A brick surround houses the Wood Stone Bistro Oven, which is one of the family’s favorite appliances. The gas-and wood-fired pizza oven has a three-inch-thick ceramic hearth and dome engineered for high heat, and the family uses it to bake pizzas, vegetables, steak, bread, and even nachos.

Sleek acrylic bar stools through Design Legacy seem to float above the fumed oak floors. The stool seats are upholstered in Stark’s easy-to-clean “Zibeline” fabric in gris, which also covers the seats and inside backs of the dining chairs.